KUALA LUMPUR: Dreams of taking his mother to perform umrah has become a reality for national track cyclist, Shah Firdaus Sahrom, and this opportunity has helped him to heal from his disappointment at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Shah Firdaus, who was heartbroken for not being able to fulfill his promise to perform umrah with his mother after failing to win gold in the keirin event, said he was genuinely surprised when someone offered to sponsor him.
Ikhlas Com Travel & Umrah Sdn Bhd (ikhlas.com) offered an umrah package to Shah Firdaus to be utilised at any time, and the sponsorship was described as timely.
"I will discuss with John Beasley (the national track cycling team head coach) because I have the World Championships and other events coming up, so we'll see later.
"This is because (Mekkah) is the best place for me to regain my composure as in the past few days, I haven't been looking at social media or watching race videos that people tag me in. I would swipe through many race-related posts. I don't want to think about what happened and I'm trying to move forward. So I feel that it's the best place for me (by performing umrah).
"My desire to go (to perform umrah) is now fulfilled. Everything happens for a reason, so this is one of the reasons. I will go this year.
"I will consider whether to go to the World Championships or not. If I don't go to the World Championships (in October in Ballerup, Denmark), I will go for umrah," said Shah Firdaus.